Ways Sought To Halt Abuse Of The Elderly

May 13, 1999|By NOREEN MARCUS Staff Writer

DEERFIELD BEACH — Al Turner of Century Village and a panel of officials from across the nation discovered they had something in common on Wednesday.

"Every morning we get up and we shake ourselves a little bit, and we're happy that we're not in a nursing home," said Turner, 83, referring to his neighbors at the sprawling senior citizens' community.

Turner and panelists assembled by the National Association of Attorneys General think that abuse and neglect of the elderly is a severe and growing problem. It is mushrooming along with the senior citizen population in Florida, where 19 percent are 65 and older.

Attorney General Bob Butterworth, who was host for the gathering, is co-chairman of the national group's task force on elderly abuse and launched a special nursing home unit to investigate inadequate care in Florida.

"We are determined to hold bad nursing homes accountable," said Mark Schlein, director of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in Butterworth's office.

In less than five years, the unit has closed almost 500 cases of patient abuse, according to keynote speaker Esther "Tess" Canja of Port Charlotte, president-elect of the American Association of Retired Persons. She said Butterworth's unit is a model for the nation.

But elder abuse is not unique to licensed nursing homes, said experts who attended Wednesday's hearing.

Broward County Circuit Judge Mel Grossman, administrator of the court's probate division, is concerned with elderly wards of the court.

"If someone in guardianship is abused or exploited, we need to monitor them," he said.

Grossman said the court next week begins a more stringent auditing program to spot-check guardian expenditures.

Mary Jo Lamont and Mary Walters, detectives in the Metro-Dade Police Department's Elderly Exploitation Unit, said many cases go unreported because the abuser is a family member.

"Nine out of 10 times, the victim is confined with the abuser," said Lamont, who started the unit with Walters in November 1995.

Parents or grandparents won't report the abuse because they think "it's a reflection on them," said Walters. "They think: I raised my children better than that."

They may have, but the children act out of ignorance.

"The general public doesn't know who to turn to for assistance," Walters said. "They're locking Grandma in her bedroom all day because she wanders off, not realizing there are day-care programs."

The two detectives also find cases of abuse in a growing underground of unlicensed adult living facilities.

There are about a thousand of them in Miami-Dade County alone, they said.

"The average person is only looking for cleanliness," Lamont said, and these adult living facilities present a good outward appearance.

But they lack basics like fire inspections and trained staff. "The lady that's mopping the floors is giving insulin shots," Walters said.

Noreen Marcus can be reached at nmarcus@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4519.